The Violet Butterscotch Blondie

250 g (1 cup plus 1 tablespoon) unsalted butter, plus more for greasing the pan

2 eggs

300 g ( 1 3/4 cups) light brown sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

240 g (1 3/4 cups) all-purpose flour

1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt

125 g (4 1/2 ounces) milk chocolate, broken into small pieces

75 g (2 1/2 ounces) caramel shards

Directions: Preheat the oven to 160 °C / 320 °F (140 °C / 285 °F convection). Butter a 30 by 20-cm (12 by 8-inch) baking pan and line with parchment paper.

Gently melt the butter in a small, heavy-bottomed pan and set aside to cool slightly.

In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, and vanilla until frothy, then whisk in the melted butter.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt, and add to the egg and butter mixture along with the milk chocolate pieces. Mix until just combined.

Pour the mixture into your prepared baking pan and smooth the top with an icing spatula or rubber spatula. Sprinkle the caramel shards over the top and bake for 30 minutes. The center should be puffed and set but still a little gooey.

Leave to cool completely in the pan, then cut into 12 thick but smallish pieces. These keep well for up to 3 days in an airtight container.

Comment: Delectable.-From The Violet Bakery Cookbook. If you don't feel like making the caramel shards yourself, substitute with any caramel candy, like Werther's Originals. 

Multi-vegetable Paella

3 tbsp olive oil

1/2 Spanish onion, finely chopped

1 small red bell pepper, cut into strips

1 small yellow bell pepper, cut into strips

1/2 fennel bulb, cut into strips

2 garlic cloves, crushed

2 bay leaves

1/4 tsp smoked paprika

1/2 tsp ground turmeric

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1 cup Calasparra rice (or another short-grain paella rice)

6 1/2 tbsp good-quality sherry

1 tsp saffron threads

salt

2 cups boiling vegetable stock

3/4 cup shelled fava beans (fresh or frozen)

12 plum tomatoes, halved

5 small grilled artichokes in oil from a jar, drained and quartered

15 pitted kalamata olives, crushed or halved

2 tbsp roughly chopped parsley

4 lemon wedges

Directions: Heat up the olive oil in a paella pan, or a large shallow skillet, and gently fry the onion for 5 minutes. Add the bell peppers and fennel and continue to fry on medium heat for about 6 minutes, or until soft and golden. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute more.

Add the bay leaves, paprika, turmeric and cayenne to the vegetables and stir well. Then add the rice and stir thoroughly for 2 minutes before adding the sherry and saffron. Boil down for a minute, then add the stock and 1/3 teaspoon salt. Reduce the heat to the minimum and simmer very gently for about 20 minutes, or until most of the liquid has been absorbed by the rice. Do not cover the pan and don't stir the rice during the cooking.

Meanwhile, pour plenty of boiling water over the fava beans in a bowl and leave for a minute, then drain well and leave to cool down. Now squeeze each bean gently to remove the skin and discard it.

Remove the paella pan from the heat. Taste and add more salt if needed but without stirring the rice and vegetables much. Scatter the tomatoes, artichokes and fava beans over the rice and cover the pan tightly with foil. Leave to rest for 10 minutes.

Take off the foil. Scatter the olives on top of the paella and sprinkle with parsley. Serve with wedges of lemon.

Comment: I left out and substituted a lot of things in this recipe based on what I had on-hand (including the fennel, saffron, fava beans, artichokes, olives). It still turned out fantastic. I also didn't have rice on-hand so I used tarly, which was no problem. This is a recipe you can play with! Really satisfying and hearty. -Elizabeth

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 cup canned pumpkin

1 egg

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 cup white sugar

2 cups flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp milk

1 TB vanilla

1 11oz bag chocolate chips

Directions: Combine pumpkin, sugar, vegetable oil, and egg in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, ground cinnamon, and salt. Dissolve the baking soda with the milk and stir into the wet ingredients. Add flour mixture to pumpkin mixture and mix well. Stir for about one minute. Add vanilla and chocolate chips and stir until combined. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Drop cookies on by the spoonful. Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes.

Comment: A huge Thanksgiving 2015 hit! Thanks to Ashley Nicole Reynolds for the recipe.-Elizabeth

The Best Everyday Chocolate Chip Cookie

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon flaky sea salt

15 tablespoons salted butter

1 cup + 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar, packed

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 large eggs, at room temperature

1 cup milk chocolate chips

1 cup dark chocolate chips

1/2 cup bittersweet chocolate chips

Directions: 

Preheat oven to 375 degrees (F). Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside. In a medium sized bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, and sea salt; set aside.

Place 8 tablespoons of butter in a small sauce pan over medium-high heat and cook for about 2 minutes - stirring almost constantly - until the butter has browned. Remove from heat and stir in remaining 7 tablespoons of butter; whisk until completely smooth. Place the bowl in the refrigerator or freezer and bring the butter back to room temperature. *You'll know the butter is at room temperature when you press a finger into the top and it makes a slight indentation.

Once the butter is at room temperature...

Add the sugars and the vanilla to the browned butter and whisk until light and fluffy; about 2 minutes (you may use a standmixer/ handheld mixer to help if you have one). Add the eggs and beat quickly - for only about 30 seconds - until they're just combined. Let the mixture rest for 5 minutes, then beat the eggs for another 30 seconds. Gently fold in the flour mixture with a wooden spoon, stirring only until the flour begins to disappear. Fold in all chocolate chips.

Roll 3 tablespoon sized balls of dough between your palms to form a ball (they should be big; almost a 1/4 cup), then place on prepared sheet (make sure to leave enough room in between each cookie for inevitable spreading). Continue this process until all the dough has been rolled. Place baking sheets in preheated oven and bake for 11-14 minutes, or until golden at the edges but still soft in the middle. Let cookies cool for 5 minutes on the sheet before transferring to a wire wrack to cool completely.

Comment: One of the best chocolate chip cookie recipes I've ever made. My writer's class all demanded the recipe. If you freeze the dough overnight, they plump up even better in the oven the next day. -Elizabeth

Sweet and Smoky Mexican Chicken

2 medium red peppers
3 small cinnamon sticks, freshly ground (or, failing that, 1½ tbsp ground cinnamon)
4 chipotle chillies, soaked in boiling water for 30 minutes, drained, seeds and stalks removed
3 cloves garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
2½ tbsp white wine vinegar
2½ tsp soft brown sugar
75ml olive oil
Salt and black pepper
1.75kg whole chicken legs (ie with both drumsticks and thighs), skin-on
20g dark chocolate, finely grated
650g baby maris peer potatoes (or other roasting potato), peeled and halved
2 medium sweet potatoes, cut into 2cm x 6cm wedges
2 medium red onions, peeled and quartered
10g coriander leaves, roughly chopped

Directions: Heat the oven to 200C/390F/gas mark 6. Put the peppers on a baking tray and roast for 30 minutes, until the skin has blackened. Transfer to a small bowl, cover with cling-film and set aside. Once cool enough to handle, peel the peppers, and discard the skins, seeds and stalks. Put the pepper flesh in the small bowl of a food processor, and add the cinnamon, chilli, garlic, vinegar, sugar, three tablespoons of the oil, a teaspoon and half of salt and three tablespoons of water. Blitz for a minute, until smooth, then transfer to a large bowl. Add the chicken legs and chocolate, and mix to coat.

Put both types of potato in a separate large bowl with the onions, the remaining oil, half a teaspoon of salt and a good grind of pepper. Mix well, combine with the chicken, then tip everything on to a large 30cm x 40cm baking tray. Arrange the chicken skin-side up and roast for about 50 minutes, until the chicken and vegetables are cooked and nicely coloured. Serve at once, with coriander sprinkled on top.

Comment: A satisfying and delicious main dish from the chef, Ottolenghi (check him out!). For the weary ones, don't worry, you don't really taste the chocolate. I never roast the peppers out of laziness and it still tastes fantastic. -Elizabeth